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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Shelf Discovery is a feature in which I highlight one book that I have found while prowling the shelves of the independent bookstore I work at it. These books aren't necessarily YA books; they're books that have discovered and find interesting or unique. I hope you do too.

I feel like I need to preface this week's pick a little bit because it is not something you'd expect to appear on this blog. Dust to Dust is written by the husband of one of my favorite professors ever, which is how I first heard about it. She'd tell us all about how he was editing or typing away in between teaching us cool things about Russia and the not-so-cool things about Stalin and such. Benjamin Busch also lives near my hometown and comes into the bookstore quite frequently. We're gearing up for a signing on Saturday to promote Dust to Dust, and it's something we're pretty excited about. I've not finished the book yet, but it is interesting and extremely well-written and of course I recommend it. Check it out:

"Dust to Dust is an extraordinary memoir about ordinary things: life and death, peace and war, the adventures of childhood and the revelations of adulthood. Benjamin Busch—a decorated U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer who served two combat tours in Iraq, an actor on The Wire, and the son of celebrated novelist Frederick Busch—has crafted a lasting book to stand with the finest work of Tim O'Brien or Annie Dillard.

In elemental-themed chapters—water, metal, bone, blood—Busch weaves together a vivid record of a pastoral childhood in rural New York; Marine training in North Carolina, Ukraine, and California; and deployment during the worst of the war in Iraq, as seen firsthand. But this is much more than a war memoir. Busch writes with great poignancy about the resonance of a boyhood spent exploring rivers and woods, building forts, and testing the limits of safety. Most of all, he brings enormous emotional power to his reflections on mortality: in a helicopter going down; wounded by shrapnel in Ramadi; dealing with the sudden death of friends in combat and of parents back home.

Dust to Dust is an unforgettable meditation on life and loss, and how the curious children we were remain alive in us all."

Obligatory plug: If you want a signed copy, Great Lakes Book and Supply (1-231-796-1112) can totally hook you up.

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Formerly a YA book blog, TheCompulsiveReader.com is now the personal bookish blog of YA writer Tirzah Price! For more frequent dispatches about books, writing, and general nonsense, check out Book Riot, head over to Twitter or follow TirzahPrice on Litsy!